Apartments — Rental rates are on the rise statewide. (Grace Howard / The Bama Buzz)

According to a new report from Rent.com, Alabama is bucking the national trend of decreasing average rent. However, the Birmingham metro area is going the opposite direction. Keep reading for all the stats.

National trends vs. Alabama

Theater Lofts — Downtown Birmingham. (Nathan Watson / The Bama Buzz)

For the third month in a row, national rent averages have decreased, most recently going down .57% month over month. Prior to that, rent had decreased 2% and 1.64% from August to September and from September to October, respectively.

In Alabama, average rent is going the other direction. Here are the details from Rent.com:

Median Rent (November): $1,187 ($779 below national median)
Year-over-year change: +4.08%
Month-over-month change: +1.59%

Neighboring states showed some varying numbers in comparison to Alabama:

Georgia: Median rent $1,779, +4.22% YoY change, -.54% MoM change
Tennessee: Median rent $1,579, +1.33% YoY change, -2% MoM change
Mississippi: Median rent $1,187, +13.93% YoY change, -1.73% MoM change
Florida: Median rent $2,119, -4.84% YoY change, -1.57% MoM change

The general trend in the Southeast appears to be rising rates in 2023 overall (except for Florida), but deceasing rates more recently. Mississippi has seen the biggest YoY increase in our region, and their November median rate was identical to Alabama’s.

Birmingham’s average rent is dropping

Homewood Home — Rental rates are dropping in Birmingham. (The Bama Buzz)

In Birmingham, things are following the national trend of decreasing rent month-over-month. With median rent prices $382 above the statewide average, though, the Magic City still sees some pretty steep rental rates.

Here are the Birmingham stats from Rent.com: